System for transporting containers, particularly ISO containers, using heavy goods vehicles

ABSTRACT

A system for transporting containers using heavy goods vehicles having a separate operating region in which the heavy goods vehicles can be operated includes at least one first lane for at least one external heavy goods vehicle, and at least one second lane for at least one internal heavy goods vehicle are reserved in the separate operating region. The heavy goods vehicles can be operated together in a mixed traffic situation, and the first and second lanes are each guided through a transition region of a handling unit of a storage region and each arranged laterally in relation tothe storage region.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the priority benefits of InternationalPatent Application No. PCT/EP2017/065171, filed Jun. 21, 2017, andclaims benefit of German patent application DE 10 2016 111 450.2, filedon Jun. 22, 2016.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the context of the present invention, heavy-duty vehicles areindustrial trucks that are designed for the handling and/or transport ofcorresponding containers in special terminals, in particular portterminals. Such containers may, in particular in the case of ISOcontainers in the loaded state, weigh up to 40 t and have normalized orat least standardized lengths of for example 10, 20, 40, 45, 53 or 60feet (the last two lengths have so far been used exclusively in NorthAmerica as containers that do not conform to ISO standards). In thisconnection, ISO containers are understood as meaning standardizedlarge-capacity or sea-freight containers that are used in theinternational transportation of goods. In the terminals, correspondingcontainers are transferred between at least two means of transport ofthe same type or of different types, for example between ships, roadvehicles and/or rail vehicles. Therefore, a correspondingly combined mixof transport may also take place, between water, road and/or rail. Inthis connection, containers may also be other normalized or at leaststandardized load units, such as for example interchangeable bodies, inparticular interchangeable containers or swap bodies.

Such heavy-duty vehicles consequently include in particularspecial-purpose vehicles that are only operated within such terminals asinternal heavy-duty vehicles and are generally not licensed for use onpublic traffic. These heavy-duty vehicles are therefore to be operatedstrictly separately from public traffic. Used for example as onepossible vehicle type of such heavy-duty vehicles are special containertransport vehicles, which have a loading area delimited by guidingelements kept at a distance from one another. The guiding elements arealso referred to as directors and guide a container to be received, orits corner castings, onto the loading area. For this, the guidingelements extend with their guiding surfaces obliquely outward and upwardaway from the loading area. The loading area may also be designed hereas part of a raisable and lowerable lifting platform. Such containertransport vehicles are known for example from EP 2 637 954 B1. Also amotor tractor, referred to as a terminal truck or terminal tractor, mayform a vehicle type of heavy-duty vehicles in the context of the presentinvention by itself or together with one or more trailers as a kind ofsemitrailer unit. Their loading area for receiving the load units isthen respectively provided on the trailer or trailers. Such heavy-dutyvehicles are known for example from DE 10 2012 108 768 A1. Also straddlecarrier devices represent a vehicle type of heavy-duty vehicles in thecontext of the present invention. These heavy-duty vehicles aredescribed for example in EP 2 694 424 B1. Such straddle carrier devices,which are also known as straddle carriers, van carriers, shuttlecarriers or runners, are not only used as a heavy-duty vehicle forcontainer transport in horizontal traffic, but in particular also asspecial handling devices for ISO containers. With the aid of a liftingdevice and a load receiving means referred to as a spreader, straddlecarrier devices can raise containers and, after transporting them, setthem down at a target location. Since the straddle carrier devices havea construction similar to the legs of a spider, they can move over acontainer resting on the ground or on another container and, dependingon the type of design, as they do so also transport a raised container.Depending on the overall height, the straddle carrier devices arereferred to for example as 1-over-3 devices, 1-over-2 devices, etc. A1-over-3 device can set down a container onto 3 stacked containers,receive the uppermost of 4 stacked containers or move with a containerit has received over 3 stacked containers.

The aforementioned heavy-duty vehicles can be manually guided andaccordingly actively controlled, in particular during acceleration,braking and steering, by usually accompanying drivers. For this,manually guided heavy-duty vehicles have a corresponding vehicle controlsystem and usually also a driver's cab, from which manual interventionin the vehicle control system can take place for manual guidance.Alternatively, the heavy-duty vehicles can also be automatically guidedand accordingly controlled in an automated manner, in particular duringacceleration, braking and steering, in the manner of so-called AutomatedGuided Vehicles (AGVs). For this, automatically guided heavy-dutyvehicles have a suitable vehicle control system, so that no activemanual intervention by an accompanying driver is required or possible onaccount of the automatic control or navigation thereby taking place. Inthis context, an automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle may also bemanned, if there is an accompanying driver, who does not however have toactively intervene in the control of the heavy-duty vehicle in themanner of a vehicle driver, or cannot. Driverless heavy-duty vehicleswhich however are manually remote-controlled by a vehicle driver are notconsidered to be automatically guided vehicles, but manually guidedvehicles.

Likewise known are conventional trucks, in particular semitrailer units,which are licensed and used for transporting corresponding normalizedload units on public traffic. Such vehicles, also referred to as roadtrucks, likewise represent a vehicle type of manually guided heavy-dutyvehicles in the context of the present invention. These heavy-dutyvehicles are referred to hereinafter as external manually guidedheavy-duty vehicles, since they can also be used on public trafficoutside corresponding terminals.

Systems of the type concerned in the present case may also be part of acontainer terminal, for example a port terminal. Such a system isintegrated here in the handling of containers, that is to say thecorresponding loading and unloading of heavy-duty vehicles, ships and/orrail vehicles. In this connection, the aforementioned heavy-dutyvehicles transport the containers for example on the water side of acontainer store between the container store and a container bridge forunloading or loading a docked ship with load units.

Also known in this context from European patent specification EP 2 637954 B1 with respect to a container terminal is a system for handlingcontainers that has as a separate operating area an automatic area and,separated from the latter by a fence, a manual area. In the automaticarea, arranged on the water side with respect to a container store, onlyinternal automatically guided container transport vehicles may beoperated, and neither internal nor external manually guided containertransport vehicles. The automatic area is guarded by a fence to preventunauthorized persons from gaining access and to prevent manually guidedheavy-duty vehicles from entering.

It is also known to operate internal and external manually guidedheavy-duty vehicles in a container terminal in mixed mode traffic.

US 2006/0045659 A1 discloses a container terminal for handlingcontainers between ships and external rail vehicles for railwaytransportation. In this case, containers are transported on the waterside between ships and an intermediate store by internal heavy-dutyvehicles. The land-side transport of containers to and from theintermediate store takes place by means of the external rail vehicles,for which corresponding rail tracks are routed into the containerterminal and up to the intermediate store.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improved system for transportingcontainers, in particular ISO containers, by means of heavy-dutyvehicles that can be operated particularly safely and cost-effectively.

A system for transporting containers by means of heavy-duty vehicleswhich comprises at least one external heavy-duty vehicle and at leastone internal heavy-duty vehicle, a container store with a storage areafor containers and a handling device for them and also a separateoperating area, in which the heavy-duty vehicles can be operatedtogether in a mixed mode of transport, wherein at least one first lanefor the at least one external heavy-duty vehicle and at least one secondlane for the at least one internal heavy-duty vehicle are reserved inthe separate operating area and the first and second lanes respectivelylead through a transfer area of the handling device of the storage area,and the first and second lanes are respectively arranged here laterallyof the storage area and in each case only in one of two storage aislesoppositely adjoining the storage area, so that the storage aisles arereserved in an alternating sequence only for the external heavy-dutyvehicle or the internal heavy-duty vehicle, wherein the first and secondlanes crossing in a crossing area of two storage aisles, is improved byproviding that the lanes are physically separated from one another, atleast in certain sections, by means of road markings and/or guidingelements serving as chicane-like barriers, wherein in the crossing areathe road markings and/or the guiding elements are arranged such that thecrossing area is designed as a pure crossover crossing or the crossingarea is designed as a turn crossing, in order to ensure that thedifferent traffic modes can only travel over the routes respectivelydesignated for them.

In order that the heavy-duty vehicles can be operated together and inparticular simultaneously in mixed mode traffic in the separateoperating area, the separate operating area has a floor that can bedriven onto by the heavy-duty vehicles together and at least in somesections does not have barriers. At least the sections that do not havebarriers can in principle be reached and driven onto both by internalheavy-duty vehicles and by external heavy-duty vehicles. Any lanes theredo not have barriers, that is to say are arranged next to one anotherand/or crossing one another but are not physically or spatiallyseparated from one another by any barriers. This applies in particularoutside the respective storage area and to transverse aisles adjoiningthe storage area there. At least in the crossing areas, the separateoperating area can consequently be driven onto both by internalheavy-duty vehicles and by external heavy-duty vehicles in a coordinatedmanner and in particular one after the other in the course of mixed modetraffic.

According to the invention, the first and second lanes are arranged herein each case in one of two storage aisles oppositely adjoining thestorage area. As a result, the first and second lanes are physicallyseparated from one another within the separate operating area by therespective storage area. This facilitates the coordination of the mixedmode traffic and, as described in more detail below, reduces the pointsof contact between the different modes of transport. Of course, a numberof lanes may also be provided for the respective heavy-duty vehicleswithin a storage aisle, so that the corresponding heavy-duty vehiclescan overtake one another. Adjacent lanes may in this case be physicallyseparated from one another, at least in certain sections, in therespective aisle and in its crossing areas, in particular by means ofroad markings and/or guiding elements serving as chicane-like barriersof the type described below.

Furthermore, the internal heavy-duty vehicle is preferably anautomatically guided heavy-duty vehicle and the external heavy-dutyvehicle is preferably a manually guided heavy-duty vehicle, so thatmixed mode traffic comprising fully automated internally operatingheavy-duty vehicles and manually guided external heavy-duty vehicles ispossible. It is consequently therefore no longer required in particularfor there to be a strict separation, and an uninterrupted spatialseparation in particular by means of corresponding barriers, ofautomatically guided and manually guided heavy-duty vehicles, so that,unlike in the aforementioned prior art, it is no longer the case thatexclusively automatically guided heavy-duty vehicles may be operated inthe separate operating area. Instead, the automatically guided andmanually guided heavy-duty vehicles can now be operated together inmixed mode traffic in the separate operating area. Furthermore, thesystem according to the invention also makes safe internal automatedtransport possible in areas in which there is mixed mode traffic byinternal manually or automatically guided heavy-duty vehicles andexternal manually guided heavy-duty vehicles, such as for exampleconventional trucks. In particular, mixed mode traffic or mixedtransport by internal automatically guided heavy-duty vehicles withexternal manually guided heavy-duty vehicles was not possible until nowon account of the strict separation of automatically guided heavy-dutyvehicles from manually guided heavy-duty vehicles. In an advantageousway, the degree of automation of so-called horizontal traffic bycorresponding heavy-duty vehicles can consequently be successivelyincreased, which on account of reduced personnel costs leads toincreased cost-effectiveness.

Safe coordination of the mixed mode traffic is made possible byproviding that the first and second lanes cross in a crossing area oftwo storage aisles, in which, according to the invention, the roadmarkings and/or guiding elements are arranged such that the crossingarea is designed as a crossover crossing or the crossing area isdesigned as a turn crossing. This ensures that the different trafficmodes can only travel over the routes respectively designated for them.

It may also be advantageously provided here as a traffic rule that theexternal heavy-duty vehicle drives around clockwise in the operatingarea and the internal heavy-duty vehicle drives around counterclockwisein the operating area, or vice versa. This traffic rule appliescorrespondingly to all other external or internal heavy-duty vehicles ina corresponding way. Alternatively, it may also be provided that all ofthe external and internal heavy-duty vehicles must travel together inthe same direction, that is to say clockwise or counterclockwise. Bycorrespondingly specified directions of travel on the principle of aone-way street and the circulatory operation described in more detailbelow, the productivity and safety are increased, since tailbacks can beavoided or at least minimized. By its component parts described withinthe scope of this application, the system according to the inventionmakes possible a advantageous reduction and minimization of safetycomponents, such as for example fences, traffic lights and accesscontrols. These safety components were required until now to prevent themixed mode traffic otherwise possible.

In an advantageous way, it is provided that the system comprises a fleetmanagement system, by means of which the mixed mode traffic by theheavy-duty vehicles in the separate operating area can be coordinated,in particular by continuous processing of the positions of theheavy-duty vehicles, specification of routes for the heavy-dutyvehicles, blocking of areas for the heavy-duty vehicles, etc.

In an advantageous way, it is provided that, within the separateoperating area, a manually guided heavy-duty vehicle is provided with adriver information system and the driver information system is connectedto the fleet management system, in order to give a driver of theheavy-duty vehicle instructions for the manual guidance of theheavy-duty vehicle.

In a constructionally simple way, it is provided that the driverinformation system is designed as a mobile device, which is arranged atthe manually guided heavy-duty vehicle before it enters the operatingarea, preferably is given to the driver, and is carried along by theheavy-duty vehicle within the operating area.

Alternatively, in an advantageous way, it may be provided that thedriver information system is permanently installed at the manuallyguided heavy-duty vehicle. This is advantageous in particular in thecase of exclusively internally used heavy-duty vehicles that do notleave the separate operating area. Loss of the driver information systemcan thus be reliably avoided.

Reliable and safe operation is also achieved in an advantageous way byproviding that an automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle, in particularits vehicle control system, is provided with a device for automaticnavigation and/or with a device for position determination and/or with asensor for object detection.

In an advantageous way, it is also provided that a wirelesscommunication connection is provided between the heavy-duty vehicles andthe fleet management system. The wireless communication connection mayfor example be designed as a W-LAN connection or LTE connection. Otherwireless communication connections are of course also conceivable. Thesecan be used in an easy way for exchanging operational information, suchas transport orders, routes and alterations to them, the position andorientation of the heavy-duty vehicles within the operating area,instructions for the drivers, prohibited areas and further operationalinformation mentioned in the description below.

In an advantageous way, it may be provided that the separate operatingarea is part of a container terminal, Ro-Ro terminal, logistics centeror industrial plant. It may be advantageously provided here that ahandling device for the normalized or operationally internallystandardized or cross-operationally standardized load units, inparticular in the form of a container bridge, a harbor crane or astacking crane of a container store, is additionally arranged in theseparate operating area and both the automatically guided heavy-dutyvehicles and the manually guided heavy-duty vehicles can be operated todrive back and forth to the handling device for receiving orsurrendering a load unit.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail onthe basis of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a container terminal in plan view;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic functional representation of a system forrealizing mixed mode traffic comprising manually and automaticallyguided heavy-duty vehicles in a separate operating area;

FIG. 3 shows a further schematic view of the container terminal in planview;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic view as a detail of the container terminal in aside view;

FIGS. 5 a to 5 c show views of a first crossing area of storage aisles;and

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b show views of a second crossing area of storageaisles.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1 , a schematic view of a container terminal 1, which isdesigned as a port terminal, is shown in plan view. Here, a number ofships 3 can dock at a quay 2 of a harbor, in order to deliver or pick upcontainers. Provided on the quay 2 for loading or unloading the ships 3are container bridges 4, which are also referred to as ship-to-shorecranes and the booms of which extend on the one hand over the ships 3and on the other hand over the quay 2. Alternatively, the loading andunloading of the ships 3 may also take place by means of so-calledharbor cranes, the booms of which are thereby swiveled over thecorresponding ship 3 about a vertical axis. Both the container bridges 4and the harbor cranes represent so-called handling devices.

The container terminal 1 is surrounded by a delimitation and in this wayis separated from its external surroundings and from the public trafficoutside the container terminal 1. Moreover, the container terminalcomprises within the delimitation 10 a container store 5, in whichcontainers for short-term intermediate storage can be stacked in atleast one storage area 5 a, also referred to as a stack, after they havebeen unloaded from the ships 3 and before they are loaded onto a road orrail vehicle for further transport or after they have been delivered bythe latter and before they are loaded onto the ships 3. Preferably anumber of storage areas 5 a and a number of storage aisles are providedhere, in order to keep the at least one storage area 5 a at a distancefrom the delimitation 10, or in the case of a number of storage areas 5a to keep two adjacent storage areas 5 a respectively at a distance fromone another and at a distance from the delimitation 10 of the containerterminal. This results in a regular grid-like arrangement of the storageareas 5 a. The storage aisles substantially comprise longitudinal aislesL1 to Ln running in the longitudinal direction L parallel to the edge ofthe quay 2, in FIG. 1 nine longitudinal aisles L1 to L9, and transverseaisles Q1 to Qn running perpendicularly to the quay 2 in the transversedirection Q, in FIG. 1 four transverse aisles Q1 to Q4. The transverseaisles Q1 to Qn consequently cross the longitudinal aisles L1 to Ln atright angles, but other angles between the storage aisles are alsopossible. In the storage areas 5 a, the containers are aligned withtheir longitudinal side parallel to the longitudinal direction L. Oneach of the four sides of each storage area 5 a, there adjoins a storageaisle in the form of two opposite longitudinal aisles and two oppositetransverse aisles. Here, in each storage area 5 a a number of rows ofcontainers, for example ten, may be set down with their longitudinalsides next to one another and in each row six containers or even morecontainers can be set down one on top of the other. For managing thecontainer store 5, that is to say for storing and retrieving thecontainers in the container store 5, at least one stacking crane 7 isprovided for all of the adjacent storage areas 5 a in the longitudinaldirection L. Each stacking crane 7 is preferably designed as a gantrycrane, which has one or two crane girders 7 a kept parallel and at adistance from one another. The crane girders 7 a extend in thetransverse direction Q, span each row of the associated storage area 5 aand in the transverse direction Q project on both sides beyond theassociated storage area 5 a above the adjoining longitudinal aisles,whereby in plan view they cover part of the respective longitudinalaisle and the lanes there (see FIG. 3 ). The crane girder or girders 7 aare carried by four vertical supports 7 b (see FIG. 4 ) and togetherform the gantry-like construction. For the storage and retrieval ofcontainers, the stacking crane 7 may be moved in the longitudinaldirection L along the associated storage area 5 a over the containersstacked therein, and consequently along the associated longitudinalaisles. In the transverse direction Q, a load receiving means suspendedfrom the crane girder 7 a, usually a spreader frame, can be moved pastthe supports 7 b, and through between them. This allows containers to bepicked up or unloaded by the stacking crane 7 in both of thelongitudinal aisles respectively adjoining the storage area 5 a andlying opposite one another. Such stacking cranes 7 likewise representhandling devices and may for example be designed as so-called automatedstacking cranes (ASCs for short), rubber-tired stacking cranes(rubber-tired gantry cranes or RTGs for short) or rail-bound stackingcranes (rail-mounted gantry cranes or RMGs for short). This allows astacking crane 7 also to manage a number of adjacent storage areas 5 ain the longitudinal direction L, which, seen in the longitudinaldirection L, are arranged one behind the other and are respectively keptat a distance from one another by a transverse aisle, and for thistravel over one or more transverse aisles. Alternatively, each storagearea 5 a may be assigned a stacking crane 7. Unlike in the case of thelayout of the container terminal 1 represented in the present case, alsoconceivable is a layout turned by degrees with respect to the quay 2, inwhich in particular the storage areas 5 a and the longitudinal aislesaccordingly do not extend substantially parallel, but transversely andsubstantially perpendicularly to the edge of the quay 2. This applies inparticular to when the stacking cranes 7 are designed as ASCs.

In a separate operating area B within the container terminal 1, at leastone internal automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle 8 a and/or at leastone internal manually guided heavy-duty vehicle 8 b and/or at least oneexternal manually guided heavy-duty vehicle 8 c are operated togetherand simultaneously for transporting containers. As described morespecifically below, safe mixed mode traffic by automatically guided andmanually guided heavy-duty vehicles and/or mixed mode traffic byinternal and external heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c is thereforepossible in the separate operating area B. By means of the internalautomatically or manually guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, transportof the containers between the container store 5 or its handling devicesand the handling devices arranged on the quay 2 takes place. By means ofthe external manually guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 c, containers can bepicked up from the container store 5 or its stacking crane 7 for furthertransport on public traffic or be delivered for intermediate storage inthe container store 5 after being transported on public traffic. Thesetransporting operations respectively take place in so-called horizontaltraffic.

Both the handling devices arranged on the quay 2 and the handlingdevices arranged in the container store 5 or the storage areas 5 a cantransfer containers, and consequently load and unload the heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c when they are in corresponding transfer areasunderneath the booms or crane girders 7 a of the respective handlingdevice. The containers may be transferred here directly between therespective heavy-duty vehicle 8 a, 8 b, 8 c and the container bridge 4or the heavy-duty vehicle 8 a, 8 b, 8 c and the stacking crane 7 of thecontainer store 5. If the transport of the containers takes place byhorizontal traffic with straddle carrier devices or heavy-duty vehicles8 a, 8 b with a lifting platform, the containers can first be set downin the transfer area on the ground or a container already set down thereor transfer racks or be received from them. The transfer areasconsequently represent in each case an interface between the horizontaltraffic and a handling device.

The internal heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b may for example be designed ascontainer transport vehicles, terminal trucks or straddle carrierdevices as defined above. In principle, the entire fleet of heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a, 8 b in the container terminal 1 may comprise only one ofthe aforementioned vehicle types, that is to say for example onlyterminal trucks, or else a number of different vehicle types, that is tosay for example terminal trucks and straddle carrier devices. Thesevehicle types are only intended and designed or licensed for internaloperational use, that is to say for internal operation within thecontainer terminal 1 or in its separate operating area B, and not forexternal use on public traffic. Such heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b can bemoved by means of wheels freely on the quay 2, and consequently in afloor-bound, but not rail-bound manner. Accordingly, the heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a, 8 b are distinguishable from rail vehicles, and inparticular from railroad cars. The wheels of the heavy-duty vehicles 8a, 8 b are respectively provided with tires, which are preferablyair-filled rubber tires in the manner of pneumatic tires. The heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a, 8 b also respectively comprise a travel drive comprising amotor, for example designed as an electric motor or an internalcombustion engine, and a transmission, in order by this means to drivethe wheels.

The external heavy-duty vehicles 8 c are usually designed as definedabove as conventional trucks that are licensed for public traffic.

The separate operating area B is arranged within the delimitation 10 andas a result is likewise separated from the public traffic outside thecontainer terminal 1. The delimitation 10 may extend up to the edge ofthe quay 2 and be designed for example as a fence or wall. Thedelimitation 10 is interrupted at one or more points, in order to formthere one or more external passing areas 11 for the external manuallyguided heavy-duty vehicles 8 c. Coming from the public traffic outsidethe container terminal 1, the heavy-duty vehicles 8 c can only driveinto the container terminal 1 through the passing areas 11, and alreadythereby (see FIG. 1 ) or only subsequently (see FIG. 3 ) drive through afurther external passing area 11 a into the operating area B, and driveback from there out of the operating area B and to the public traffic.For the specifically intended opening and closing of each passing area11, 11 a, a safety lock for checking the entering and leaving heavy-dutyvehicles 8 c and their drivers in and out, including identification, mayalso be respectively provided. The internal heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 bmust not drive through the passing areas 11, 11 a, since they must notgo onto the public traffic outside the container terminal 1 and alsomust not leave the operating area B. The automatically guided heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a may in any case only be operated as intended within theoperating area B. An exception to this is leaving the operating area Bfor example for purposes of maintenance or repair.

In this case, however, the heavy-duty vehicles 8 a do not leave theoperating area B in an automatically guided manner, so that this is notconsidered to be operation as intended. Unlike in the aforementionedprior art, in addition to the internal automatically guided heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a, the internal and/or external manually guided heavy-dutyvehicles 8 b, 8 c can also be operated together or simultaneously withthem in the separate operating area B.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic functional representation of a system forrealizing mixed mode traffic comprising manually and automaticallyguided heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c in the separate operating areaB. The separate operating area B of the container terminal 1 can beseen.

A fleet management system 12, by means of which the simultaneouslytaking place transportation by the internal and external orautomatically and manually guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c inthe separate operating area B and in particular in the storage aisles iscoordinated, is provided as a modular functional component of the systemfor the mixed mode traffic. In the course of this, the exchange ofvarious operational information described below takes place, and inparticular route planning and route monitoring are thereby carried out.For this purpose, wireless communication connections 17 in the manner ofdata connections, for example in the form of W-LAN connections, can beestablished between the heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c and the fleetmanagement system 12 for the exchange of the operational information.For the route planning and route monitoring, in particular continuousprocessing of the time-variable positions of all of the heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c located in the operating area B takes place bythe fleet management system 12. The fleet management system 12 thereforeknows important operational information about the status, in particularthe position of each heavy-duty vehicle 8 a, 8 b, 8 c in thecorresponding storage aisle or the respectively used traveling areas,lanes and directions of travel. It is also possible here by means of thefleet management system 12 and the communication connections to specifyand alter routes for the heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c, for exampleby target positions of storage aisles, lanes and/or directions of travelto be used that are specified for certain points in time.

Moreover, the fleet management system 12 may dynamically block areas inthe manner of prohibited areas or release areas, in particularindividual storage aisles or lanes, for all of the heavy-duty vehicles 8a, 8 b, 8 c located in the operating area B, and consequently ensurethat in a specified area there is only one heavy-duty vehicle 8 a, 8 b,8 c. Furthermore, the fleet management system 12 may manage orcoordinate the entering and leaving of the heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b,8 c to the aforementioned transfer areas and also maintenance ordersand, in the case of battery-operated heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, alsopossibly required battery changing orders or battery charging orders.The fleet management system 12 may also carry out so-called deadlockmonitoring of the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 a.

Within the separate operating area B, the manually guided heavy-dutyvehicles 8 b, 8 c are provided with a further modular functionalcomponent in the form of a driver information system 13, which is alsoreferred to as an on-board unit. It may be provided that manually guidedheavy-duty vehicles 8 b, 8 c may only enter the separate operating areaB together with such a driver information system 13. Only then can eachmanual heavy-duty vehicle 8 b, 8 c be integrated and taken into accountin the coordination of the mixed mode traffic. This increases theproductivity and also the safety of the container terminal 1, sincetailbacks can be avoided or at least minimized. The driver informationsystem 13 communicates here for the exchange of operational informationwith the fleet management system 12 respectively by means of one of thewireless communication connections 17. In the course of this, the fleetmanagement system 12 transmits operational information, in particular inthe form of instructions for the manual guidance of the heavy-dutyvehicle 8 b, 8 c, to the driver of the respective heavy-duty vehicle 8b, 8 c by means of the driver information system 13. Instructions mayinclude the specifications already explained above of a route to thetarget point and alterations to it, preferably including storage aisles,lanes, directions of travel to be used, currently set-up prohibitedareas, traveling speeds and traffic rules. The driver information system13 also determines possible deviations from the instructions and informsor warns the driver of these optically and/or acoustically. In thisconnection, the driver information system 13 preferably determinescontinuously, and for example by means of a GPS unit, the position ofthe heavy-duty vehicle 8 b, 8 c and also reports this back to the fleetmanagement system 12. Information about the operational situation in theoperating area B may also be provided by means of the driver informationsystem 13.

The driver information system 13 may be designed as a mobile device,which is preferably arranged on each manually guided heavy-duty vehicle8 b, 8 c at the latest before it enters the operating area B and iscarried along by the heavy-duty vehicle 8 b, 8 c within the operatingarea B. For this, the driver information system 13 may be given to thedriver on entering the container terminal 1 in the passing area 11 or 11a and be surrendered again on leaving. Corresponding mobile devices areused in particular for external manually guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 csuch as conventional trucks. In the case of heavy-duty vehicles 8 b thatare used purely for internal operations, the driver information system13 may also be designed as a mobile device or be permanently installedon the heavy-duty vehicle 8 b.

The automatically guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, in particular theirvehicle control systems, are respectively provided with a furthermodular functional component in the form of a device for automaticnavigation 14 within the operating area B. The heavy-duty vehicles 8 acan thereby navigate and be automatically controlled in a computer-aidedmanner on the basis of the routes specified by the fleet system 12. Tobe able to continuously determine the position and orientation withinthe operating area B and transmit them as operational information to thefleet management system 12 by means of the corresponding communicationconnection 17, each automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle 8 a isprovided with a further modular functional component in the form of adevice for position determination 15. Transponder technology ispreferably used for this. Accordingly, the devices for positiondetermination 15 have at least one antenna, by means of whichtransponders let into the floor of the operating area B at predeterminedpoints can be detected and in this way the position and orientation ofthe heavy-duty vehicle 8 a can be determined. Other methods fordetermining the position and orientation can of course also be used, forexample D-GPS/LPR. The determined positions and orientations may also betransmitted in terms of control technology by means of a correspondingdata line 19 to the device for automatic navigation 14, and consequentlybe taken into account in the form of a setpoint-actual comparison in theautomatic guidance along the specified and possibly altered routes.Furthermore, in this context a sensory object detection may take placeand be taken into account for monitoring the traveling route to increasesafety. For this, the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 a arerespectively provided with a sensor for object detection 16 as a furthermodular functional component, which is operatively connected in terms ofcontrol technology by means of the data line 19 and the device forautomatic navigation 14 or the device for position determination 15 tothe vehicle control system. If an obstacle is detected on or at apredetermined distance alongside the lane, an intervention into thevehicle control system is made in order to prevent a collision. Theheavy-duty vehicle 8 a can thereby be automatically braked and/orautomatically made to drive around the detected obstacle. The obstaclemay also be another heavy-duty vehicle 8 a, 8 b, 8 c, which is forexample traveling ahead or approaching a crossing area in which there isthe risk of a collision (see FIG. 5 a ). The fleet management system 12coordinates the different traffic, however, such that generally internaland external or automatically and manually guided heavy-duty vehicles 8a, 8 b, 8 c cannot enter the crossing areas at the same time and meetone another. In particular as a result of the minimization of points ofcontact between the transporting operations described below, it istherefore only in exceptional cases that an intervention has to be madein the crossing areas by means of the object detection 16.

The fleet management system 12 may be integrated in a terminalmanagement system 18, and consequently be part of it or be in connectionwith it for an exchange of operational information by means of awireless or wire-bound communication connection 17, in order to be ableto exchange operational information. By means of the terminal managementsystem 18, transport orders for the heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b areplanned and transmitted to the fleet management system 12 by means ofthe communication connection 17. The transport orders can then bemanaged by the fleet management system 12 and be used for thecoordination of the mixed transport comprising automatically guided andmanually guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, in particular the routeplanning and route monitoring thereby taking place.

Routes are subsequently generated from the transport orders by the fleetmanagement system 12 and transmitted by means of the wirelesscommunication connections 17 to the heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b.Moreover, the terminal management system 18 may also transmit transportorders directly by means of a further wireless communication connection17, for example in the form of a W-LAN connection, to the manuallyguided heavy-duty vehicles 8 b or their driver information system 13. Bymeans of the communication connection 17 to the fleet management system12, a coordinated integration of the corresponding heavy-duty vehicles 8b in the mixed transport can then likewise take place on the basis ofthe transport orders, in that the fleet management system 12 transmitscorresponding instructions for the manual guidance of the heavy-dutyvehicle 8 b to the driver of the respective heavy-duty vehicle 8 b bymeans of the driver information system 13. The store keeping ormanagement of the container store 5 may also take place by means of theterminal management system 18 and be taken into consideration in theplanning of the transport orders.

FIG. 3 shows a further schematic view of the container terminal 1 inplan view. Six longitudinal aisles L1 to L6 and five transverse aislesQ1 to Q5, by means of which the storage areas 5 a are kept apart fromone another and also from the delimitation 10 and the handling devicesarranged on the quay 2, are represented. Each storage aisle comprises atleast one lane for the heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c. For betteroverall clarity, however, no heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c arerepresented in

FIG. 3 , but instead the lanes provided for them are schematicallyrepresented as lines provided with arrows. Lanes that are reserved forinternal heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b are represented by dotted linesand lanes that are reserved for external heavy-duty vehicles 8 c arerepresented by dashed lines. It can be seen that the storage aisles arereserved or kept only for certain of the heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8c in an alternating sequence, and may only be driven onto by thecorrespondingly other heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c in some crossingareas 20, 21 of two storage aisles for crossing over. Only in the outertransverse aisles Q1 and Q5 are the lanes of corresponding heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c that are otherwise separated in the manner ofaisles provided together and with opposite directions of travel.

Within the container terminal 1 and the delimitation 10, the separateoperating area B may also be at least partially delimited by furtherboundary elements 9, which do not coincide with the delimitation 10 andfurther delimit the operating area B with respect to the outerdelimitation 10. The further boundary elements 9 of the operating area Bmay also be designed as a fence or wall. In the present example, aboundary element 9 is respectively provided between the first twolongitudinal aisles L1 and L2 and in the outer transverse aisles Q1, Q2,Q4 and Q5. The outermost boundary elements 9 in the transverse aisles Q1and Q5 serve as a barrier for the lanes used by the heavy-duty vehicles8 a and prevent them from leaving the operating area, but in each caseform a passing area 11 a for the heavy-duty vehicles 8 c. The inner twoboundary elements 9 delimit the operating area B between thecorresponding storage areas 5 a in the transverse aisles Q2 and Q4. Alsothe storage areas 5 a themselves delimit the operating area B betweenthe first two longitudinal aisles L1 and L2. In the third transverseaisle Q3, designed between the longitudinal aisles L1 and L2 of theadjacent storage areas 5 a is a further passing area 11 a, through whichheavy-duty vehicles 8 c can enter and leave the operating area B. Forthis, corresponding lanes with opposite directions of travel areprovided in the transverse aisle Q3.

The separate operating area B may comprise a first area B1 in the mannerof an internal area and a second area B2 adjoining thereto in the mannerof a mixed area (also see FIGS. 1 and 4 ). In the internal first areaB1, no mixed mode traffic, but exclusively internal transport isallowed. Accordingly, only internal heavy-duty vehicles 8 a and/or 8 b,such as for example the terminal trucks schematically represented inFIG. 1 , may enter and leave the first area B1. External manually guidedheavy-duty vehicles 8 c, such as conventional trucks, are excluded fromthis internal area B1, but may drive around in the second area B2. Fordelimiting the first area B1 with respect to the second area B2, furtherboundary elements 9 may be provided by analogy with the aforementionedboundary elements 9 and respectively form an internal passing area 11 bwith or without a safety lock. By means of each passing area 11 b, thefirst area B1 is connected to the second area B2, but only internalheavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b are allowed to pass through. The boundaryelements 9 respectively installed between the longitudinal aisles L5 andL6 in the transverse aisles Q1 and Q5 consequently serve as a barrierfor the lanes used by the heavy-duty vehicles 8 c. The inner boundaryelement 9 delimits the operating area B between the correspondingstorage areas 5 a in the transverse aisle Q3. In the transverse aislesQ2 and Q4, respectively designed between the longitudinal aisles L5 andL6 of the adjacent storage areas 5 a is a further passing area llb,through which only internal heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, preferablyonly heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, can enter and leave the operating area B.For this, respectively corresponding lanes with opposite directions oftravel are provided in the transverse aisles Q2 and Q4.

As an alternative or in addition to corresponding boundary elements 9 orbarriers, the entering of heavy-duty vehicles 8 c and/or 8 b into thefirst area B1 or the leaving of the operating area B by heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a and/or 8 b may also be prevented by providing that theroutes specified by means of the fleet management system 12 only runoutside the first area B1, in particular only in the second area B2. Forthis, the internal first area B1 may be defined by the fleet managementsystem 12 as a prohibited area and be taken into account as such in theroute planning and route monitoring, and consequently be excluded forthe heavy-duty vehicles 8 c and/or 8 b. The first area B1 may thereforealso be operated as a purely automatic area, in which only heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a may drive around.

The internal first area B1 preferably extends on a side of the containerstore 5 that is on the water side and facing the quay 2 and comprisesthe container bridges 4 and also the storage areas 5 a at least directlyadjoining the quay 2 and also the longitudinal aisle L6. The second areaB2, serving as the mixed area, comprises the other storage areas 5 a ofthe container store 5, so that both internal heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8b and external heavy-duty vehicles 8 c may travel around in its storageaisles, while taking into account the specifications described in moredetail below. Only the external heavy-duty vehicles 8 c may leave theoperating area B and the container terminal 1 through the passing areas11, 11 a.

By the already mentioned reservation or specification of lanes orstorage aisles for transporting operations of certain heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c, at the same time for each storage area 5 a andassociated stacking crane 7 the two transfer areas of the stacking crane7 are reserved for corresponding traffic. The lanes are thereforearranged laterally of the storage areas 5 a and therefore adjoin thecorresponding stacking crane 7, at least within the transfer areas. Thisallows the stacking cranes 7, designed for example as so-calleddouble-cantilever RMGs, to transfer or receive containers on both sides,in particular longitudinal sides, of a storage area 5 a in the storageaisles adjoining there, and consequently optionally to an internal,possibly automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle 8 a, 8 b or externalheavy-duty vehicle 8 c. This also becomes clear in FIG. 4 , which showsa schematic view as a detail of the container terminal 1 in a side view.While, for the sake of better overall clarity, in FIG. 3 no more thantwo lanes for each storage aisle are represented by way of example, morelanes may also be provided in the longitudinal aisles. This is shown inFIG. 4 by way of example for the longitudinal aisles L5 and L4, whichrespectively have three lanes. Of these, the middle lane in each caserepresents a kind of bypass lane, which unlike the other lanes is notled through the transfer area of the stacking cranes 7 underneath thecrane girders 7 a. The bypass lane can therefore be used for overtakingheavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c that are in the transfer area forloading or unloading. Apart from a lane led through the transfer area ofthe associated stacking crane 7, the longitudinal aisle 6 extending onthe quay comprises in the present example altogether four further lanes,of which at least some lead through the transfer area of the containerbridges 4.

The reservation represented by way of example in FIG. 3 provides thatthe storage aisles or the lanes running in them between the storageareas 5 a are used as follows: longitudinal aisles L1, L3, L5 forexternal heavy-duty vehicles 8 c, longitudinal aisles L2, L4, L6 forinternal heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, transverse aisles Q1 and Q5together for heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c with opposite directionof travel for internal and external traffic, transverse aisles Q2 and Q4for internal heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 c, transverse aisle Q3 forexternal heavy-duty vehicles 8 c. As can be seen in FIG. 3 , mixed modetraffic by automatically guided and manually guided or internal andexternal heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c thus only occurs in thesecond area B2, and there in particular in the outer transverse aislesQ1 and Q5, and also in some, in the present case every second, crossingareas of transverse aisles and longitudinal aisles, but not within alongitudinal aisle between the crossing areas.

As represented by the orientation of the arrows of the correspondinglines for the lanes in FIG. 3 , directions of travel are specified forthe different transporting operations. In the present example, it isprovided for the external heavy-duty vehicles 8 c that they drive in akind of circulatory operating mode around storage areas 5 a and therebyin a clockwise sense, and accordingly enter and leave the operating areaB in their lanes. The internal heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b drive aroundin the operating area B in a corresponding circulatory operating mode ina counterclockwise sense. All of the lanes running through thelongitudinal aisles L1 to L5 have the same direction of travel in themanner of one-way streets. Only in the longitudinal aisle L6 is acirculatory operating mode with opposite directions of travel possible.Furthermore, the lanes to be driven over in the individual storageaisles are specified. For the inner transverse aisles Q2 to Q4, forexample, driving on the left may be specified for the internalheavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b and driving on the right may be specifiedfor the external heavy-duty vehicles.

By the aforementioned specifications, which are also taken into accountby the fleet management system 12 in the specification and alteration ofroutes described above, the points of contact between the differenttraffic modes (internal/external or automatic/manual) are reduced to aminimum. Points of contact do arise, however, in crossing areas betweenthe transporting operations in which the respective transportingoperations take specified defined routes. In order that precisely theseroutes are taken, corresponding road markings may be provided in thecrossing areas. As an alternative or in addition, the lanes are howeverprovided with guiding elements 6 in the form of chicane-like fixtures,so that only the intended routes are possible (not represented in FIG. 3for the sake of better overall clarity).

By way of example, this is explained below on the basis of a firstcrossing area 20, shown in FIGS. 5 a to 5 c , between the longitudinalaisle L3 and the transverse aisle Q4 and on the basis of a secondcrossing area 21, shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b , between the longitudinalaisle L3 and the transverse aisle Q1. It can be seen from FIG. 3 thatthere are further identically designed crossing areas, to which thestatements made with respect to the crossing areas 20, 21 applycorrespondingly.

The first crossing area 20 is provided as a pure crossover crossing, inthe case of which no turning into the respectively crossing storageaisle or lane is allowed.

To reliably prevent turning, a number of guiding elements 6 areinstalled on the crossing area 20, extending up out of the road andthereby being given their chicane-like function, which forces heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c entering the crossing area 20 into the desiredlane and direction of travel (see cross-sectional view A-A in FIG. 5 b). For this, the guiding elements 6 are dimensioned and arranged inrelation to one another such that the storage aisles in the crossingarea are deliberately made so narrow that turning is not possible, butinstead, for collision-free operation, the crossing storage aisle orlanes must be crossed over. Provided here both between the adjacentlanes of each storage aisle is a corresponding outer guiding element 6,which, seen in the direction of the crossing lane, widens toward thestorage area 5 a and consequently narrows the adjoining lanes. Moreover,further guiding elements 6, for example in the form of an angle, mayalso be installed in the corner areas of the storage areas 5 a adjoiningthe crossing area 20. Also in the crossing area 20, provided in themiddle between the crossing lanes there is a central guiding element 6,which together with the respectively adjacent outer guiding elements 6correspondingly narrows the lanes between the storage areas 5 a.Consequently, all of the heavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c entering thecrossing area 20 are forced to cross over it without turning into acrossing storage aisle or lane, and consequently to continue travelingin the respective storage aisle.

By contrast, the second crossing area 21, shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b ,is provided as a turn crossing, in particular in the form of a Tcrossing provided at the end of the longitudinal aisles. There, turninginto a specified one of a number of crossing lanes of the crossingstorage aisle is possible and required for certain lanes and directionsof travel. In the present case, in a way corresponding to thecirculatory operating mode intended, heavy-duty vehicles 8 c leaving thelongitudinal aisle L3 can only turn clockwise and only into the outerlane in the transverse aisle Q1 that is reserved for heavy-duty vehicles8 c and is at a further distance from the storage areas 5 a. Therefore,guiding elements 6 comparable to the guiding elements 6 of the crossingarea 20 are installed in the crossing area 21. However, here the guidingelements 6 are dimensioned and arranged in relation to one another suchthat the storage aisles in the crossing area 21 are deliberately made sonarrow that, coming from the longitudinal aisle L3, turning into theinner lane of the transverse aisle Q1 is not possible, but instead, forcollision-free operation, these lanes must be crossed over, and onlysubsequently turning into the outer lane is possible. From the innerlane of the transverse aisle Q1, which is reserved for heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a and 8 b, the arrangement shown of the guiding elements 6 inthe crossing area 21 means that only crossing over of the crossinglongitudinal aisle L3 is possible. This also applies to heavy-dutyvehicles 8 c entering the crossing area 21 on the outer lane, which mustnot turn counterclockwise into the longitudinal aisle L3. Correspondingcomments may apply to a crossing area designed analogously at the otherend of the longitudinal aisle L3 with regard to entering thelongitudinal aisle L3 from the transverse aisle Q5.

The crossing areas of similar transporting operations may also bedesigned analogously, and in particular using corresponding guidingelements 6 as a crossover crossing (for example crossings between L4 andQ2 and also L3 and Q3) or a turn crossing (for example crossings betweenL4 and Q1, L2 and Q2 or else L5 and Q3).

In FIG. 3 , it can also be seen that, by analogy with the guidingelements 6, the already mentioned boundary elements 9 assume thefunction of chicane-like fixtures, and accordingly are arranged in therespective storage aisle as part of crossing areas such that a desiredlane is deliberately blocked in order to prevent driving straight aheadand enforce turning into a specified storage aisle and possibly a lane.

The reduction or minimization of crossing areas of differenttransporting operations described above has the effect of significantlyfacilitating the automation of the internal transport. In preparationfor mixed mode traffic comprising heavy-duty vehicles 8 a and 8 c, atfirst also only manually guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 b and 8 c may beused and operated with the aid of the present invention in a coordinatedmanner and in corresponding mixed mode traffic. These vehicles can thenrespectively use the correspondingly reserved lanes and, by using theinvention described here, the heavy-duty vehicles 8 b can subsequentlybe replaced by heavy-duty vehicles 8 a. The fleet of internal heavy-dutyvehicles can thus be completely automated. However, internal andexternal manually guided heavy-duty vehicles can still be used together.An already fully automatic operating area B can also be opened by thepresent invention for external heavy-duty vehicles 8 c and supplementedby heavy-duty vehicles 8 a and 8 c to provide corresponding mixed modetraffic.

It is also possible that, as an alternative or in addition to theheavy-duty vehicles 8 a, 8 b designed as terminal trucks, straddlecarrier devices are used, in the manner of straddle carriers with whichboth the storage and retrieval of containers in storage areas 5 a of thecontainer store 5 and the transport between the container store 5 andthe container bridges 4 can take place. Furthermore, heavy-load stackersin the manner of so-called reach stackers may be used in particular asmanually guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 b or handling devices. Bothcorresponding straddle carrier devices and heavy-load stackers usuallyhave a so-called spreader as a load receiving means for receivingcontainers. It is then possible to dispense with stacking cranes 7, atleast in some storage areas 5 a of the container store 5.

The aforementioned modular functional components can in principle beused for all of the aforementioned possible vehicle types of heavy-dutyvehicles 8 a, 8 b, 8 c, but also for handling devices such as thecranes, straddle carrier devices and heavy-load stackers mentioned. Thesystem according to the invention with corresponding heavy-duty vehicles8 a, 8 b, 8 c can also be used not only as described in the present casewith respect to a container terminal 1 designed as a port terminal.Rather, this is also possible when a corresponding separate operatingarea B is part of a Ro-Ro terminal for so-called Ro-Ro ships(abbreviation for roll-on roll-off ships, in the case of which thecontainers are driven onto and off the ship by means of correspondingheavy-duty vehicles), a logistical center or an industrial plant inwhich containers are delivered or picked up and both internalautomatically guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 a and, together with them,internal and/or external manually guided heavy-duty vehicles 8 b, 8 care to be used in a corresponding mixed mode traffic. Instead ofcontainers, in particular ISO containers, other normalized orstandardized load units can also be handled of course, such as forexample interchangeable bodies, in particular interchangeable containersor swap bodies.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for transporting containers via heavy-duty vehicles comprising: at least one external heavy-duty vehicle and at least one internal heavy-duty vehicle, wherein the external heavy-duty vehicle is licensed for operation on public roads and the internal heavy-duty vehicle is not licensed for operation on public roads; a container store with a plurality of storage areas for containers and a plurality of storage aisles, wherein the storage aisles are disposed between the storage areas, and a crane for handling the containers; a separate operating area in which the heavy-duty vehicles can be operated together in a mixed mode traffic within the container store, wherein at least one first lane for the at least one external heavy-duty vehicle and at least one second lane for the at least one internal heavy-duty vehicle are reserved in the separate operating area and the first and second lanes respectively lead through a transfer area of the crane of the storage area; wherein the lanes are physically separated from one another, at least in certain sections, by guide elements that extend up out of the surface of the lanes; wherein said storage aisles cross to form crossing areas in which first and second lanes cross, and wherein said crossing areas comprise a first crossing area and a second crossing area, and wherein the guide elements are arranged such that the first crossing area is designed as a pure crossover crossing and the second crossing area is designed as a mixed crossing; wherein a plurality of guide elements are installed in the first crossing area that is designed as a pure crossover crossing, wherein the guide elements extend up out of the first and/or second lane and thereby force heavy-duty vehicles entering the first crossing area into a desired lane and direction of travel; wherein the guide elements are dimensioned and arranged in relation to one another such that the storage aisles in the first crossing area are deliberately made so narrow that turning is not possible, but instead for collision-free operation, the crossing storage aisle or crossing lanes must be crossed over; wherein guide elements are installed in the second crossing area that is designed as a mixed crossing, so that turning into a specified one of a number of crossing lanes of the crossing storage aisle is possible and required for certain lanes and directions of travel in the second crossing area.
 2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the external heavy-duty vehicle drives around clockwise in the operating area and the internal heavy-duty vehicle drives around counterclockwise in the operating area, or vice versa.
 3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the system comprises a fleet management system comprising a computer control system and having a wireless communication connection with the at least one internal heavy-duty vehicle and having a wireless communication connection with the at least one external heavy-duty vehicle, wherein the fleet management system electronically monitors the position of the at least one internal heavy-duty vehicle and the position of the at least one external heavy-duty vehicle via the respective wireless communication connections via which the mixed mode traffic by the heavy-duty vehicles in the separate operating area can be coordinated by continuous processing of the positions of the heavy-duty vehicles, specification of routes for the heavy-duty vehicles, and blocking of areas for the heavy-duty vehicles.
 4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein within the separate operating area at least one of the external or internal heavy-duty vehicles comprises a manually guided heavy-duty vehicle provided with a computerized driver information system that operably communicates with the fleet management system via the respective wireless communication connection for the manually guided heavy-duty vehicle, and wherein the fleet management system is configured to provide instructions to a driver of the manually guided heavy-duty vehicle via the driver information system for the manual guidance of the heavy-duty vehicle.
 5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the external heavy-duty vehicle and the internal heavy-duty vehicle drive around clockwise or counterclockwise in the operating area.
 6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the system comprises a fleet management system comprising a computer control system and having a wireless communication connection with the at least one internal heavy-duty vehicle and having a wireless communication connection with the at least one external heavy-duty vehicle, wherein the fleet management system electronically monitors the position of the at least one internal heavy-duty vehicle and the position of the at least one external heavy-duty vehicle via the respective wireless communication connections via which the mixed mode traffic by the heavy-duty vehicles in the separate operating area can be coordinated by continuous processing of the positions of the heavy-duty vehicles, specification of routes for the heavy-duty vehicles, and blocking of areas for the heavy-duty vehicles.
 7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein within the separate operating area at least one of the external or internal heavy-duty vehicles comprises a manually guided heavy-duty vehicle provided with a computerized driver information system that operably communicates with the fleet management system via the respective wireless communication connection for the manually guided heavy-duty vehicles, and wherein the fleet management system is configured to provide instructions to a driver of the manually guided heavy-duty vehicle via the driver information system for the manual guidance of the heavy-duty vehicle.
 8. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the driver information system is designed as a mobile device, which is arranged at the manually guided heavy-duty vehicle before it enters the operating area and is carried along by the heavy-duty vehicle within the operating area.
 9. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the driver information system is permanently installed at the manually guided heavy-duty vehicle.
 10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system comprises a fleet management system comprising a computer control system and having a wireless communication connection with the at least one internal heavy-duty vehicle and having a wireless communication connection with the at least one external heavy-duty vehicle, wherein the fleet management system electronically monitors the position of the at least one internal heavy-duty vehicle and the position of the at least one external heavy-duty vehicle via the respective wireless communication connections via which the mixed mode traffic by the heavy-duty vehicles in the separate operating area can be coordinated.
 11. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein within the separate operating area at least one of the external or internal heavy-duty vehicles comprises a manually guided heavy-duty vehicle provided with a computerized driver information system that operably communicates with the fleet management system via the respective wireless communication connection for the manually guided heavy-duty vehicle, and wherein the fleet management system is configured to provide instructions to a driver of the manually guided heavy-duty vehicle via the driver information system for the manual guidance of the heavy-duty vehicle.
 12. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the driver information system is designed as a mobile device, which is arranged at the manually guided heavy-duty vehicle before it enters the operating area and is carried along by the heavy-duty vehicle within the operating area.
 13. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the driver information system is permanently installed at the manually guided heavy-duty vehicle.
 14. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein at least one of the at least one internal heavy-duty vehicles comprises an automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle provided with a sensor for object detection.
 15. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein a wireless communication connection is provided between the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicles and the fleet management system; wherein the fleet management system electronically monitors the position of the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle via the wireless communication connection; and wherein the fleet management system is configured to specify the route for the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle, wherein the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle undergoes computer controlled navigation based on the route specified by the fleet management system via the wireless communication provided between the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle and the fleet management system.
 16. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the separate operating area of the system is part of a container terminal, Ro-Ro terminal, logistics center or industrial plant.
 17. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the mixed mode traffic by the heavy-duty vehicles in the separate operating area is coordinated by the fleet management system by continuous processing of the positions of the heavy-duty vehicles and/or specification of routes for the heavy-duty vehicles and/or blocking of areas for the heavy-duty vehicles.
 18. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one internal heavy-duty vehicles comprises an automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle provided with a sensor for object detection.
 19. The system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the system comprises a fleet management system comprising a computer control system and having a wireless communication connection with the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle; wherein the fleet management system electronically monitors the position of the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle via the wireless communication connection; and wherein the fleet management system is configured to specify the route for the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle, wherein the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicle undergoes computer controlled navigation based on the route specified by the fleet management system via the wireless communication connection-is provided between the automatically guided heavy-duty vehicles and the fleet management system.
 20. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the separate operating area of the system is part of a container terminal, Ro-Ro terminal, logistics center or industrial plant. 